Season Two Roundup

I’m sure it’s darkly and ironically intentional that this season – dominated by questions about who’s in charge, who to accept orders from, and whether our lives are within are control – began with Mama Cass crooning the independence anthem “Make Your Own Kind of Music” (which I now have stuck in my head – thanks, LOST). In another way, it’s also LOST’s way of saying that they’re going to keep doing their own thing regardless of whether or not the viewers are totally on board; we take it for granted now, but there was initially some skepticism about crash-landing on an island where there just happen to be a whole heck of a lot of “other” people.

The Others are one of two central plotlines this season, with artist-formerly-known-as-“the-hatch” The Swan (and the ensuing mystery of The Dharma Initiative) dominating the front half of the season. With two such important plot points on the table, it ought to have been an exciting season laden with heavy mystery, intrigue, and new layers of mythology. Unfortunately, though, the second season was marked mostly by the writers spinning their wheels in a classic case of “the sophomore slump.” A perfect illustration of this is that the first season encompassed roughly 44 days on the island; the second season only explored 23 (ah, the numbers!). This protraction ends up hurting the show; recall that it took almost three full episodes for us to have enough questions answered from last season’s finale to feel good about it, and that we had to see the Desmond/Jack/Locke scene three different times from three different angles. Maybe I’m just spoiled by the “compressed” storytelling of Seasons Four and Five, but Season Two feels drawn out, and some of it even seems pointless. I’m thinking of a lot of the flashbacks this season (each of which only really did one thing for their respective characters), and I’m definitely still sore about that stretch of episodes right in the middle (a LOST tradition, I guess) where ABSOLUTELY NOTHING HAPPENS. “Fire + Water”? Pointless. “The Long Con”? Okay, who cares? “The Hunting Party”? STOP CRYING, JACK.

Fortunately, the show never really sucked (except for those middle episodes), and we owe a lot of that to LOST’s newfound heroes. On this rewatch, I noticed that there are three people we really have to thank for making Season Two so extraordinary: Damon Lindelof, Carlton Cuse, and Michael Emerson. Damon & Carlton are probably LOST’s most prolific writers, mostly because they’re the head writers. But they co-wrote seven episodes of Season Two, and looking back on the list I’m ready to say those were the seven most interesting episodes of the season (an eighth, which Damon wrote alone, also makes the cut). These two guys are the masters of mythology, the artists of the slow tease, and the supermen of the slam-bang reveal. Without them, we’d probably have a season filled with episodes like “Fire + Water.” Yeesh.

Then there’s Michael Emerson. Just when the show was falling fast – right around the time that I was wondering if I should continue through with this rewatch – in saunters this little man calling himself “Henry Gale.” Since this is LOST, we know instantly to question his story, but the way that Emerson plays him is utterly fascinating. We know he’s evil – we just know it – and yet there’s something that tells us, “Well, maybe not...” If Locke is the ideal viewer for the show – the one who believes everything is for a purpose – then “Henry” is the ideal writer of the show; he knows what the endgame is, but he’s not telling us until it’s just the right time. Emerson’s story is Hollywood legend now – a character actor flying out to Hawaii for a three-episode arc that ended up spiraling into a four-season full-time cast member spot. Emerson made the show interesting again, so major kudos to him for keeping me watching.

And now for our Questions roundup: Of our 81 lingering questions, 34 have now been answered, leaving 47 still remaining (these 47 will continue to carry over to subsequent roundups until they are answered). In Season Two, I asked 141 questions, 60 of which were answered within the season; this leaves 76 questions for future seasons to answer. That brings our running total of lingering questions to 123. As with last season, I decided to be a smartass and asked five questions that were completely useless.

Asked and Answered – Lingering Questions:

• It bears repeating – if she’s a fugitive, what did Kate do? Jack implies it was murder, but we don’t know for sure... – Kate murdered her birth father when she learned they were related.
• Did the people in the tail section survive? – Yep.
• Were the bank robberies the reason Kate was wanted? If so, why was she considered extremely dangerous? – (We know they’re not, since the marshal said he was chasing Kate before the bank robbery, but we still don’t know why she was wanted.) She was wanted for murdering Wayne Janssen.
• What happened in Sayid’s past to make him promise never to torture again? – Sayid was forced into torturing after Desert Storm, and it’s brought him nothing but ill fortune.
• What happened to Nadia? – She made it to America, where she met Locke.
• Are there other people on the island? – (Ethan, yes, but we don’t know about anyone else...) There is definitely a large contingent of Others on the island.
• Who’s Ethan with, if he wasn’t on the plane? – The Others.
• Why did Ethan kidnap Claire? – The Others are interested in Claire’s baby.
• Who’s Ethan working for/with? – The Others.
• Who else is on the island...? – The Others.
• Who are “The Others”? – A group of people living on the island, they are more sophisticated than they appear.
• Who are the “they” Charlie talks about? – The Others.
• Why is Sayid’s compass funky? – The electromagnetism under The Swan.
• Where does Rousseau’s map lead? – (The Black Rock, but it could point to other places.) I’m closing the book on this one.
• Where has Claire been all this time? – At The Arrow, where The Others were treating her before they aimed to keep her child.
• How did Claire make her way back to the survivors? – Rousseau brought her back.
• Where’s she been? – At The Arrow, where The Others were treating her before they aimed to keep her child.
• Why doesn’t Claire remember anything? – It could be a self-defense mechanism, or it could stem from Rousseau knocking Claire out.
• What sort of ramifications will there be from killing Ethan? – Relations between The Others and The Survivors are strained.
• If Hurley is coming back to the mental institution, why was he there in the first place? – Hurley blames himself for a deck collapse and is emerging from catatonia and seeing imaginary people.
• Why are The Numbers stamped on the side of The Hatch? – The Numbers must be entered into a computer in the hatch.
• Who were the Nigerians who crashed on the island? – Drug runners connected to Eko; one of them was his brother Yemi.
• Who did Boone reach on the plane’s radio system? Why did they claim to be the survivors of Flight 815? – It was Bernard, with the rest of the Tailies over on the other side of the island.
• What’s down in the hatch that a light could just come on? – It’s Desmond!
• How did Jack and Sarah’s marriage turn out? – Sarah left Jack because he was too busy fixing things to notice she was having an affair.
• Why did Locke lie about what happened, only to have a change of heart? – Locke is waffling between believing that the island has chosen him and fearing that his faith is being abused.
• Why did Kate’s own mother call the police on her? – Kate killed her husband.
• What is the pillar of black smoke? – (It’s smoke from a pyre, but we don’t know who lit it.) Charlie confirms that Rousseau lit the smoke to lure The Others into trading Aaron for Alex.
• Jack tells Ana Lucia he’s not married “any more.” Why? – Jack and Sarah separated after Sarah was cheating on him.
• Who was on the phone with Ana Lucia? – It was her mother.
• Will Charlie relapse? (He has the statue, but we don’t know if he intends to use it.) – Though Charlie possessed the Virgin Mary statues for much of Season Two, he did not relapse.
• What’s inside the hatch – Twinkies or hope? – Mostly Desmond and Dharma supplies.
• Who lit the pyre for the pillar of smoke? – Rousseau.
• Who took Walt? – The Others.

Asked and Answered – Season Two:

• What was Desmond inoculating himself with? – Vaccine for an illness believed to be contracted on the island.
• What is the purpose of the hatch and all the elaborate accoutrements within? – Pressing the button in The Swan releases pent-up electromagnetic energy.
• What’s the source of the magnetism in the hatch? – A cache of electromagnetism under The Swan.
• What does the computer in the hatch do? – Defuses the electromagnetism.
• How did Desmond get into the hatch? – After crashing on the island, Desmond was brought to the hatch by Kelvin Inman.
• How long has Desmond been in the hatch? – Three years.
• Why is Desmond in the hatch? – Desmond is left to push the button after Inman died.
• Did Desmond win the race around the world? – Negatory.
• What the heck happened with the raft?! – The Others blew it up, and the Rafties floated to the other side of the island.
• What is DHARMA? – According to Marvin Candle, it’s “a large-scale communal research compound where scientists and free-thinkers from around the globe could pursue research” in a variety of scientific endeavors.
• Who did Desmond think Locke was? – His replacement.
• What did one snowman say to the other snowman? – “Smells like carrots.”
• Why is Desmond so interested in the timetable of the plane crash? – Desmond believes he caused the plane crash by failing to press the button.
• Why would The Others want Walt? – They believe he is special.
• Does Desmond ever leave the hatch? – Once in three years.
• Are those really The Others? – Nope, they’re Tailies.
• Why would we all die if the computer’s broken? – No one knows what all that electromagnetism could do.
• How did Kelvin die? – Desmond accidentally killed him by bashing his head against a rock.
• What information is in the orientation video’s missing footage? – The computer must not be used for anything beyond entering the numbers.
• Is Jack right in suggesting that the computer is just a mind game? – Nope.
• Who’s the woman in the photograph with Desmond? – Penelope Widmore, his girlfriend.
• Where is Desmond running to? – Physically, he’s going to find his sailboat; metaphorically, he’s running to his honor.
• The supplies in The Swan can’t have been down there since the ’70s. How is the stockroom getting replenished? – Someone is sending periodic supply drops.
• What happened to the rest of the Tailies? – The Others captured or killed them.
• When will Rose and Bernard reunite? – Episode 2.08, “Collision.”
• What’s got the Tailies so on edge? – The Others stalking them.
• The Others have children? – Sort of. The Others abducted the kids from the tail section.
• Is Sawyer gonna be okay? – Oh, yeah.
• What’s Sayid going to do to Ana Lucia? – Forgive her. Boom.
• What’s going to happen when the alarm ticks all the way down to 0:00? – Major electromagnetic malfunction. Purple skies, loud noises, explosion.
• What are the blast doors for? – To insulate The Swan from the outside world.
• What was Sayid doing on the television in Sam Austen’s office? – He was in Desert Storm on the Iraqi side, a war in which Sam Austen served.
• Who edited the Swan video? Why? – Radzinsky edited it, but we don’t quite know why.
• Is that really Walt on the other end of the computer? – Yes (the writers have said so).
• Who’s Geronimo Jackson? – An obscure band from the 1970s. (It seems, based on how fixated characters are on GJ for about five seconds, that it could be important, but I’m not ready to consider this unanswered.)
• Is the Alex with The Others the same Alex that Rousseau’s looking for? – Yep, it’s her daughter.
• Where’s Michael gotten to? – He’s with The Others, bartering for Walt’s freedom.
• Does Hurley know Libby from somewhere? – They were in the Santa Rosa Mental Institution together.
• Is Henry Gale legit? – Haha, no way.
• Was Henry’s wife killed by the same illness that Rousseau says killed her team? – No. The real Henry Gale’s wife never made it to the island.
• Why is Eko cutting down the trees that he marked as trees that he “liked”? – He’s building a church.
• Why did Claire become so instantly trusting of Ethan? – Her mind sort of went on hibernation.
• Why doesn’t Alex share the agenda of The Others? – She’s not one of them; she’s Rousseau’s daughter.
• Does Henry’s map lead to an ambush? – Surprisingly, no.
• What caused The Swan to go into lockdown? – There are two conflicting reports; it could either have been faked by “Henry Gale,” or it could have been triggered remotely during the supply drop.
• Who painted the blast door map? – Kelvin Inman, and Radzinsky before him.
• What does the blast door map show? – A map of the Dharma stations on the island.
• So who is this guy calling himself Henry Gale? – He’s a higher-up with The Others.
• What’s Eko building? – A church.
• Is Hurley’s “Dave” an imagined version of a real person, or is he just a complete figment? – The writers have said he’s a figment.
• Why was Libby in the mental institution? – Damon and Carlton say it’s because she flipped out after her husband’s death.
• Where’s Michael been? – With The Others, negotiating for Walt.
• Does Libby remember Hurley from the hospital? – I’d say she does.
• Why did Michael free “Henry” after killing his fellow 815ers? – Trading Walt for “Henry.”
• Where does the pneumatic tube go from The Pearl? – There’s a tube drop that hasn’t been accessed in a while.
• With The Pearl monitoring other stations, does this mean the other stations are psychological trick experiments? Or are some of them legit with only a few others as placebos? – Well, we know The Swan wasn’t bogus.
• Where does the Pala ferry go? – Michael uses it to leave the island, while The Others use it to move quickly to and fro about the island.
• Has Michael gone absolutely crazy? – No, his plan to free Walt makes sense in a weird kind of way.
• What station are The Others guarding? – Gotcha! It’s not a station at all; it’s a bogus door.
• Who’s on the sailboat? – Desmond.

Still Unanswered:

• Why hasn’t anyone come to rescue them?
• Why doesn’t technology work on the island?
• How the heck did a polar bear get on this island? (Hint: it’s not “Bear Village,” as Sawyer says.)
• “Where are we?”
• Michael promises to find Vincent “as soon as it stops raining.” Immediately, it stops raining. Is this situational humor, or is there something special about Walt?
• Why did the thing in the jungle let Locke live, and why does he lie about it?
• How did Locke become paralyzed?
• Where’s Christian’s body?
• Is the Christian on-island a ghost, a resurrected Christian, or something else entirely?
• What does Locke mean when he says that he’s “looked into the eye of this island, and it’s beautiful”?
• What’s the deal with Jack and his tattoos?
• Who was the original Sawyer?
• What’s the cable for?
• Where is Alex?
• What is the source of the mysterious whispers?
• What does Claire’s dream/nightmare mean?
• Why can’t anyone else raise Claire’s baby?
• Did the psychic know that Flight 815 was going to crash?
• Walt keeps rolling what he needs in backgammon and says he’s the luckiest person his step-dad knows – is there something supernatural at play?
• Why are the tides rising so quickly?
• Why has the monster been quiet the last few weeks?
• There’s a polar bear in Walt’s comic book. There’s more than one polar bear on the island. Coincidence?
• Why is Michael “holding on” – for Walt or for himself?
• Did Walt somehow cause the Bronze Kahuku to crash into the window?
• Is Claire’s black rock the same as Rousseau’s black rock?
• What was the Tampa Job that Sawyer and Hibbs worked?
• What’s the story behind Kate’s short marriage?
• If Frank Duckett wasn’t the real Sawyer, who was?
• Did Sawyer ever get revenge on Hibbs for using him?
• What’s the significance of The Numbers?
• Why does “using” The Numbers lead to problems?
• Where did Sam Toomey learn The Numbers?
• Are The Numbers cursed?
• Who’s been broadcasting The Numbers from the island?
• Why did the island take away Locke’s ability to walk?
• I think this one is between the lines, especially in light of the fifth season’s events: Did Shannon miss, or did the island save Locke?
• How does Walt know about the hatch?
• Why is it so important for Sawyer to be on the raft? He claims it’s because there’s nothing on the island, but there has to be something deeper, right?
• Was it Walt’s thoughts on the hatch that spurred his change of heart vis-à-vis leaving the island?
• Why did Montand lose his arm?
• What infected Rousseau’s team?
• What makes Rousseau claim the monster is a security system?
• How did The Black Rock get all the way inland?
• Michael said it best: “How the hell does a place this big never get discovered?”
• What does Sun have to be punished for?
• Why isn’t Locke afraid of the smoke monster?
• Where did the smoke monster try to take Locke?
• Why is “QUARANTINE” stamped on the hatch door?
• What did Shannon see in the jungle – Walt or something else?
• What’s the significance of the mural in the hatch?
• Why would Desmond think that the world doesn’t exist anymore?
• If Cooper has conned people before, is he the original Sawyer?
• How many Others are there?
• What will the other five DHARMA orientation videos show? – One (The Pearl) shows that the stations are under surveillance, but what of the others?
• What happened in the “incident”?
• Why the numbers – why do those get entered into the computer?
• Whatever happened with Hurley and Starla?
• How did Rose know that Bernard is fine?
• Who is Jae Lee’s American woman?
• How does Locke know so much about babies?
• Why is Shannon seeing visions of Walt?
• How do The Others know the names of those on the plane?
• Who decides who a good person is to put their names on a list?
• What is the function of The Arrow station?
• Who claimed that the island was under quarantine, and why?
• Who does the glass eye belong to?
• Where did the U.S. Army knife come from?
• Where did the mysterious black horse come from?
• Are the ghosts that Kate is seeing connected to the “ghost” of Walt that Sayid saw?
• Are the odd things around Kate – Sawyer as Wayne, the black horse – ghosts, guilt, the smoke monster, or something else?
• How could communication with the outside world lead to another incident?
• Does Eko have a soul?
• Why didn’t the smoke monster attack Eko?
• Who was Sarah’s lover?
• Why is Locke so interested in Sawyer’s name?
• How do The Others know the names of all the 815ers? Was it simply Ethan reporting back?
• What does Sawyer owe Gordy?
• Why are transmissions coming in from 1944?
• Why is Rousseau so convinced that Henry Gale is one of The Others?
• What’s the significance of the hieroglyphics?
• What was The Staff’s original function?
• Where did all the things in Claire’s nursery come from, and why couldn’t Ethan explain them?
• Are The Others members of The Dharma Initiative?
• Why were The Others interested in Claire’s baby?
• Why do The Others pretend to be all grizzly?
• Did Sun and Jae Lee have an affair?
• Who’s the father – Jin or Jae Lee?
• Did the island cure Jin’s infertility like it cured Locke’s paralysis?
• What was Jack doing in Thailand?
• I think it’s also fair to ask whether Dave was Hurley’s imagination or “the island” just messing with him.
• What’s the so-called Henry Gale’s real name?
• Who does “Henry Gale” answer to?
• Did “Henry” press the button?
• Why won’t The Others turn over Walt?
• How does the island heal people?
• Why did Christian choose the name “Sarah” for Ana Lucia? Is this a reference to Jack’s wife?
• Was “Henry” really coming for Locke?
• Who did Christian go to Australia to see?
• Was Goodwin going to kill Ana Lucia?
• Is Richard Malkin genuinely a psychic or not?
• Who salted the question mark?
• Who was in The Pearl recently?
• Why did the orientation film presenter use a different name – Mark Wickmund instead of Marvin Candle?
• Why did Locke have to come to the Pearl?
• Why did Pickett take Michael’s blood?
• What’s in “the room” where Walt was being held?
• Why did Ms. Klugh choose the four survivors that she did?
• Why was Desmond dishonorably discharged from the army?
• Why couldn’t Desmond leave the island?
• Why is Libby’s hair different in each flashback?
• Who was Libby married to? David, but David who?
• What’s the story behind the Hurley bird?
• What’s the deal with the four-toed statue?
• How did Inman get from Iraq to the island?
• Who is Radzinsky?
• Why would Radzinsky edit the video?
• Why did Radzinsky kill himself?
• Why did Kelvin leave the army?
• Did the system failure crash Oceanic 815?
• What happened when the failsafe was triggered?
• Why won’t Michael be able to return to the island?
• Are The Others really “the good guys”?
• Did the two Portuguese men find the island? If so, how did they know to look for electromagnetic activity?

Me Being a Smartass – Season Two:

• Why is there so much ranch dressing in The Swan?
• Who’s the father of Ana Lucia’s baby? OK, Danny, but who’s Danny? – Let’s not be fatuous here. Not everything has a surprise meaning.
• Are the washer and dryer in The Swan really newer than everything else down there?
• If Hurley got on the plane late and Libby was sitting in the back of the plane, how did he manage to step on her toe? – I maintain that she’s a compulsive liar.
• Is there milk in The Swan?